Squatters May Have Caused Blaze In Building Owned By Newark Mayor

NEWARK, NJ (AP) – Authorities say squatters may have caused a fire that damaged a vacant Newark home owned by the city’s mayor.

No injuries were reported in Friday’s fire at the three-story Court Street residence that Cory Booker bought in December 2009 but has never occupied. But The Star-Ledger reports the blaze damaged the home, noting several windows were smashed out and black soot was caked around the windows and front door.

The newspaper reports Booker also owns the home next door and initially planned to renovate both houses and have his parents live in one of them. But he has since bought another home and has been trying to sell the Court Street houses.